


Cliff Steele and Flex Mentallo: Heroes of the Beach!

by CJRothWritten



Category: Doom Patrol (Comics)
Genre: Beaches, Cliff is a good bro, Comfort/Angst, Day At The Beach, Emotional, Emotional Baggage, Emotionally Repressed, Emotions, Feelings, Friendship, Gen, Happy, Lack of Communication, Male Friendship, Open to Interpretation, Opening up is important, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, communication is key
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-23 20:27:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17087186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CJRothWritten/pseuds/CJRothWritten
Summary: Cliff and Flex go to the beach, but their tans aren't the only thing being worked on.





	Cliff Steele and Flex Mentallo: Heroes of the Beach!

“Do it.” Cliff said with as much a grin as his metal maw could muster.

Flex, not to be disturbed from his sun-tanning, replies “Cliff, I’d really rather not, I’m here to enjoy the sun.”

“C’mon, real quick, do it. It’s been a while since we’ve dealt with any major threats, and I just want to see the words alone! It’ll be funny, people love it!”

Cliff and Flex had gone to the beach for the day. The other Doom Patrollers elected to stay and hang with Danny Street on, you guessed it, Danny Street. But Cliff figured it might be nice to watch the sun. Ever since he got a body that allowed him to feel temperature, feeling the sun, he realized, was a long lost pleasure he’d again get to enjoy. Flex, on the other hand, just wanted to work on his tan. He was the Hero of the Beach after all. 

Cliff was determined to show everyone else just how big a hero he was. Not just in the literal sense either. They’d been together in the team for a long while now, and yet Flex remained an enigma to him. He turned the pentagon into a circle! Yet he hadn’t really opened up to, or even shared small talk with him. Cliff became hard-pressed to change this. Today was the day.

“Listen, Flex, it’s tough. It’s tough to find joy, or laughs in this shell of mine,” he motioned to his leather-jacketed, bronze metal body. “And part of your power is inspiring hope! Best way to do it? Do the pose, just for me buddy.”

“Cliff, it isn’t a parlor trick, alright? It isn’t something I should just throw around when I’m asked to. As you said it’s been a while since we’ve dealt with any threats! Why would I perform the purest of my power without any reason?” Flex was now sitting up, looking at Cliff. “And I know you, Jane, and Danny talk. If I show you, and they find out, suddenly everyone is gonna want me to just _perform_ it.” 

Flex stood, walking down to the shore. Cliff followed in towe. “Cliff, I spent so long being a homeless mess, I’m not just gonna show off all that I’ve earned for a gag.”

Cliff stood behind him, and even the stillness and coldness of his face belied a thinking man. He approached, putting a hand on Flex’s shoulder. Noting that he had to reach up to that shoulder due to this man’s mighty height. 

“You know why me and them can talk? Not just because we’ve saved the world countless times together, you know, that’s just work.” Flex faced him. “It’s because we open up to each other, not just about our sorrows and sadness, but our good humour. I mean, with the work we do, you have to laugh now and then. Everyone taught me that, Danny, Jane, hell even _Caulder_ did, before everything.”

Flex stopped bracing, looking to the sand sucking in his feet, threatening to hide his toes, and he looked up. “Am I _that_ difficult, sometimes?”

“You can be,” Cliff spoke “But you aren’t unlikeable. If you were, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Flex smiled. “We went through a lot together, the pentagon, Candlemaker. All I’d like is for us to open up to eachother, not just about the bad, but the good too. Take me, for example, it’s been a long time, but I can appreciate how much I missed the sun. And I can admit that to you. Flex, you’re the hero of the friggin’ beach, if any one of us is good, it’s you.”

Flex laughed, “Oh, yeah? Anyone tell you that you’re talking a lot these days?”

“Yeah,” Cliff nodded “And they like it, you should try it some time.” Flex paused, a neutral look on his face. "That and we’re the two best looking guys of the team, we should be setting an example!”

The two brauny friends laughed to eachother. A full, hearty laugh. 

Cliff, for the first time in a long time, felt the heat of the setting sun, tasted the salt on the air, and felt the sand crush under his heavy step as he walked to look at the sun. Flex followed him, and stood by his side, appreciating for the first time just how newly felt all this was for Cliff. They stood side by side, taking in the world around them. The world they’d saved from wild, inexplicable horrors. The world that would never truly appreciate how close they’d come to an oblivion of insanity.

“Hey, Cliff.” Flex nudged his shoulder.

“Yeah, bud?”

Flex walked to the shore, feet dipping below the shallow, salty seas. He turned, standing perpendicular to Cliff as he looked down the shore, Flex quickly shot a look back, catching Cliff off guard, as he brought his arms up in a bulging flex. Cliff’s eyes widened, forgetting how crazy large his friend was. Every single muscle in his body may as well have been sculpted from stone, from his massive arms all the way down to his crushing thighs. If Cliff could blush, he’d have tried to hide it. 

As Flex, well, _flexed_ his body, the words exploded in shining light above his head, drawing looks from a mile around. Cliff’s electronic eyes quickly adjusted to the flash, the image of the beach closing in around his friend until there it was, the words that read: **HERO OF THE BEACH!**

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! As always politce critique is always welcomed.
> 
> Follow me on twitter if you like @CJRothWritten


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